His Savior, Her Hero (A Tim Gutterson Story)

The New Medical Examiner

She had turned every head, Tim's included. She held a strange sense of authority, some even getting out of her way. He had no idea who this woman was, but he was stuck in the elevator with her and they were going to the same floor.

The overwhelming sensation of being inferior to the woman has disappeared when the elevator closed. She had given him an awkward smile and a timid "hello".

When he figured out she was going to the marshals office, he held the door for her, just to get one last glance at her entire figure.

She didn't have much. Her copper hair was plainly straight, her pale skin decorated in freckles. He noticed her eyes were slightly different, but he hadn't managed to hold her gaze long enough to tell the difference. She wore a black dress with heels and a white lab coat, and her nails were painted black. She had kept them tucked into her coat pockets.

She wasn't entirely flat. She definitely worked out and had a terrifying stance, even in heels. It was clear she was a fighter, a survivor, and deadly.

She walked straight into Art's office and closed the door. Through the glass walls, he could see what was happening. Art was happy to see her, his laughter muffled through the glass.

"Who's the girl?" Rachel asked as she placed a cup of coffee on Tim's desk.

"I just walked in with her. I didn't see a badge on her."

"Were you looking for one?"

Tim looked at her with a smirk, "I definitely looked."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "So, who do you think she is?"

"Niece," Tim answered.

"I'm going with daughter."

"He's got a picture of all his daughters in his office."

"Some cases we'd go on, he'd talk about this other girl around his daughters' age. He's been trying to convince her to move to Kentucky for years. He always said she was like a daughter."

"You think that's Harper?" Tim questioned as he turned to his computer and started typing.

"You know her name?"

"He was on the phone talking to someone about Harper visiting. Here it is, Bonnie-Mae Harper Delaney." He clicked on a file, "Holy shit."

The woman in Art's office was on his computer screen, though a bit years younger. She had been beat to hell, most of her injuries caused by her disobeying police orders.

He read through her file, surprised to learn the kind hearted woman Art always spoke so fondly about was actually the daughter of a mercenary group from Tennessee that were as well known as the Crowders.

The Delaneys were no small family. This Bonnie-Mae had a record of seven siblings. Her rap sheet was like reading a law book. She had a spectrum from a light trespassing to the heavy hitter, murder. Murder was probably the only thing she was truly guilty of.

She was a sniper, after all.

As Tim continued to read, he occasionally glanced to see if the woman was still talking to Art. When he got to the end of her file, he learned she took a plea deal. For every life she had taken, she would give the investigators a name from her family.

"No wonder the Tennessee office is so busy," Tim mumbled.

Art's door opened. Tim watched as the woman walked out, carrying herself just as high and mighty as before. Under her white jacket was a marshal badge and a gun. She was a marshal.

A few hours later, Rachel came to Tim's desk, "So, Harper is our new medical examiner."

"We have a medical examiner?"